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Jim passed away on August 8th peacefully at home in Los Altos, California. For the past four years he valiantly battled a rare disease called Rosai-Dorfman which compromised his immune system.

Jim was born in Bay City, Michigan on October 9th, 1940. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Joan; his children Jason (Sarah) St. Laurent of Mountain View and Laura (Matthias) Weber-St. Laurent of Ridgefield, CT. He was the loving grandfather of Tyler, Alex, Avery and Nico. He is also survived by his brother John (Elaine) Martin St. Laurent of Beaverton, OR.

Jim graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. In Mathematical Statistics, attended DePaul University in Chicago and Santa Clara University where he acquired an MBA and a PhD (ABD) in Marketing and Quantitative Methods. In 1965 Jim began his career in Chicago with Allstate Insurance as a Research Analyst. In 1966 he relocated to Menlo Park, CA to help establish the Allstate Research Center. He was the Claims Research Director when he retired from Allstate in 1996.

He met Joan in Chicago and they were married in 1968. They eventually settled in Los Altos where they raised their two children and have lived for the past 40 years. Jim and Joan loved to travel and saw much of the world. They went on several memorable cruises with family and friends. They also have wonderful memories of annual vacations with family and friends at both Sea Ranch and Pajaro Dunes, CA.

Jim was an avid board and computer game player. In 1974 Jim created a board game, Crude the oil game, which was sold worldwide. Stronghold Games approached Jim in 2010 and a rerelease of Crude will ensue in early 2012. He was an enthusiastic soccer fan and World Cup fanatic. He was a softball pitcher for 34 years and was nicknamed “Wheels” because of his speed running the bases. He enjoyed coaching his children and their friends in both soccer and baseball. Later in life he was his grandchildren’s biggest fan at their sporting activities, and rarely missed an event.

Jim was an imaginative man whose creativity showed through in all aspects of his life. His sense of humor, grace and humility even during the toughest times were inspirational. He will be immensely missed by all those who knew him.

A memorial service will be held at Alta Mesa Funeral Home, 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, on Wednesday, August 17th at 11am. The family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions in Jim’s memory be made to the Histiocytosis Association - www.histio.org or NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders) 55 Kenosia Avenue, PO Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813, or a charity of your choice.

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